You can have your cheese and eat it, too!

There are a plethora of paramount health reasons to ditch dairy – particularly in the form of cheese – from the high saturated fat, sodium, cholesterol, and hormone content to the opiate-like casomorphins that encourage its addictiveness. Just the mere fact that approximately 75 percent of the global population is lactose intolerant is enough to reason that we have no business consuming the milk of another species! Fortunately, there has never been an easier time to chuck cheese because there are infinite plant-based alternatives available both commercially and in the DIY format (a la delicious recipes).

To reduce calorie density and maximize nutrient density, I recommend minimizing or avoiding the use of oils. Thus, if you love cheese the way many people do, it is ideal to make your own without using oils.

Here is a collection of 20 whole food, plant-based cheese recipes that are easy to make, oil-free, and absolutely divine…

Delicious Nutritious Recipe Roundup

If you haven’t heard about Lighter yet, here is your chance to get an exclusive taste of their deliciousness! A powerful tool designed to help the world eat better, Lighter offers insanely useful grocery lists and flexible weekly menus based on the recommendations of plant-based leaders. To follow my eating recommendations – customized for you – visit my Lighter profile.

This recipe roundup features favorites of experts in the plant-based world, from physicians and dietitians to athletes and food bloggers, and offers a super sampling of what Lighter is all about.

In this previous post filled with meal plans and hundreds of wholesome recipes, there leaves no question that there are infinite delectable dish options on a plant-based diet. The other crucial part of this lifestyle is that eating this way does not have to be challenging. At all. In fact, it can be super simple. With a sprinkle of creativity and a twist of courage, you can whip up a meal that is healthy, delicious, quick, low in cost, and (yes!) made with five ingredients or less!

Here are 50 – yes 50 (!) – oil-free, sugar-free, whole food, plant-based recipes that can be made with five or fewer ingredients from breakfast through dessert:

***Note: I did not count herbs, spices, or other seasonings in this roundup because those are optional and the easiest addition to anything, as it is just a dash or sprinkle here or there. I also excluded other optional ingredients or garnishes in the “five” for a few of these because they were too good not to be included and still just as simple as the rest…

Eating vegan can absolutely be easy, affordable, and most definitely delicious. On the gradient between super simple and grandly gourmet, there is a ton of wiggle room to make eating plants an everyday, enjoyable experience for everyone. You definitely aren’t limited to munching on lettuce and carrot sticks all day because there is a universe of possibility out there.

Because there are innumerable benefits (and even more) of a vegan diet for humans, our planet, and the billions of animals that can be saved annually, it is an extraordinary investment to accept the learning curve necessitated by facing up to the process of redefining your plate. Most of us were raised eating a standard western diet. That is how we were taught to prepare food and how we simply look at our food. Thus, taking meat out of the center of the dish and reworking the culinary repertoire (or meal ordering know-how) you have hardwired in your brain from years of experience requires a reset. I liken it to learning a new language. You begin by trying out a few new ingredients such as nutritional yeast or quinoa (as in learning the fist few words on a new language). Then you try some recipes out (like learning some phrases). Then you start connecting those meals and stringing them into days (initiating some conversational sentences). Before you know it, with plenty of practice under your belt, you become fluent in how to eat a plant-based diet.

Flexibility is key in making the transition simple. Allow yourself to experiment with an open mind. Explore and find recipes online, via friends and family, or in books and bookmark the ones you love. I print or write out my favorites and collect them in my cookbook cabinet in my kitchen so they are always there for me to refer to when I need some inspiration.

No meal carries more controversy than breakfast. Skip it or prioritize it? Breakfast as a king or light and breezy? Grain-free or a hearty bowl? Smoothies and juices detoxifying or harmful? With so many questions, this one simple meal can be confusing. Well, what if you threw all the rules out the door and brought …

No meal carries more controversy than breakfast. Skip it or prioritize it? Breakfast as a king or light and breezy? Grain-free or a hearty bowl? Smoothies and juices detoxifying or harmful? With so many questions, this one simple meal can be confusing.

Well, what if you threw all the rules out the door and brought breakfast back to the table under your own terms? After 20 plus years in the health and fitness industry, working with clients and researching the science, here is what I recommend when it comes to breakfast:

Eat your first meal when you are truly physically hungry. Never force it, rush it, or hold off based on a preconceived notion of when you are “supposed” to eat. There is research recommending (daily) fasting which would encourage waiting as long as possible between your last meal the day before and your first meal of the next day. On the flip side, there is also science to support eating smaller meals every few hours. Yet, only you know you. So honor your body and eat when your body wants to eat. So long as it is not “toxic hunger,” your body will be your perfect guide for when and how much to eat.

Whether you want just fruit for breakfast, dinner for breakfast, or anything in between, go for it! There is no perfect food or magic meal makeup that is ideal for everyone. Again, hone in on your instincts for what you prefer. Some mornings may feel like a smoothie morning while others may inspire a heartier dish.

Eat mindfully. Tuning into hunger and satiety signals and also noticing how your body feels after you eat specific foods will give you all the answers you seek about what you need. Also, chew well, eat with the fewest distractions possible, and taste your food. These are practices that improve with time, but they are gifts that will support your health over a lifetime.

With the rules removed, there are infinite options available for your fave first meal-of-the-day. If you are a smoothie person, you can enjoy one of these 20 scrumptious smoothies. Here are a few grain-free options. Or, you can explore one of these 30 game-changing (oil-free, sugar-free) choices:

Hummus should be a food group. Why? Because it is perhaps the most versatile vessel of nutritious deliciousness possible. Legumes (beans, lentils, peas, and soy foods) are one of the most important food groups, offering ample fiber and protein (including lysine, an amino acid that may otherwise fall short in a vegan diet). Because I recommend aiming for three servings of legumes a day (one serving equals half a cup), hummus offers an excellent and delicious way to fit it in.

Here are 30 recipes that illustrate how insanely creative a simple bean can be become with a little imagination…

Eating an exclusively plant-based diet is the most health-promoting, sustainable, and compassionate way of eating. Yet, it comes along with certain stigmas, such as it being expensive, difficult, or boring. Alas, these myths couldn’t be further from the truth! There are infinite delicious combinations of legumes, vegetables, whole grains, fruits, nuts, seeds, herbs, and spices to satisfy any palate. It can easily be done on a budget and full meals can be whipped up in a mere few minutes. Allow me to debunk these delusions and illustrate just how inexpensive, easy, and exciting eating vegan really is…

Here are 40 cost-effective, magnificent main meals you can whip up in 30 minutes or less:

There is something super special about smoothies…the unrivaled convenience, the opportunity to pack in a huge nutritional power punch, the vibrant versatility of flavor potential (as you will see below), and also just the sheer deliciousness of it all…

“Gluten-free” may have skyrocketed into a trend, but many people have no choice but to avoid this protein for some serious health reasons. Celiac disease, which necessitates strict avoidance of gluten, afflicts about one in 141 people in the United States. Plus, non-celiac gluten sensitivity is also increasing in prevalence. Overall, anyone avoiding gluten for medical, health, or …